Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hold a meeting in Amritsar on February 21, officials said today ending long-standing uncertainty. Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is all set to take Punjab’s close business as well as people-to-people relations with Canada to the next level, with a one-to-one meeting with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday, said an official spokesperson here. “Look forward to meeting Canadian Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau in Amritsar on Wednesday. I’m hopeful that this meeting will help strengthen…

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The Communist Party of India today blamed the Prime Minister’s Office for diamond merchant Nirav Modi fleeing the country and hit out at Narendra Modi for keeping mum on the Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank scam. The party’s general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said the PM’s silence on such a “big scandal is surprising”. “On every issue, the prime minister reacts, tweets and comments. But when such a serious incident takes place, why doesn’t he speak or react? He must reply,” Reddy told reporters here. He claimed that in 2016,…

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today declined to comment on his deputy O Panneerselvam’s remarks that the latter acted on a suggestion from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on merging his faction with that of Palaniswami. Palaniswami said he would respond to the issue after going through Panneerselvam’s remarks, made at an AIADMK office-bearers meeting at Theni on Friday. “I don’t know about it. I will comment after going through it (Panneerselvam’s remarks),” he told reporters here. Meanwhile, senior state BJP leader and Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan ruled out the…

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today started his week-long visit to India with a tour of the iconic Taj Mahal, which he had first seen 35 years ago. Trudeau was accompanied by wife and three kids during the tour of white marble mausoleum on the banks of Ganga river. “I was about Xav’s age when I first visited the Taj Mahal almost 35 years ago… and it’s amazing to be back with him & the family on Day 1 of our trip to India,” he tweeted. The Canadian first family…

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Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi today said his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) would not insist on contesting Jahanabad seat but voiced displeasure over delay by NDA in announcing candidates for the three seats in Bihar, where by-elections are scheduled next month. The HAM president had last week said that the district unit of his party in Jahanabad had passed a resolution staking claim over the assembly seat which has fallen vacant upon the death of RJD MLA Mundrika Yadav. Bypolls are also scheduled on March 11 in Araria…

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Former Congress leader Narayan Rane today ridiculed Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to oppose the setting up of a refinery in Ratnagiri district and termed Thackeray’s move as a farce. Addressing a press conference, Rane said that the industry and environment ministries, both of which are connected to the setting up of the refinery at Nanar in Rajapur, were headed by Sena leaders. “Why have they given permission to the project? Why the farce of meeting the chief minister to oppose the project?” Rane…

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Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat today exhorted youths of Jammu and Kashmir to stay away from elements trying to indulge in terror activities in the militancy-infested state, and asked them to focus on building their lives through education. His comments came during an interaction with a group of students from Rajouri district of the state, who are in the city as part of the national integration tour from February 11-21. “You have to grow up to serve the country, the villages you come from. So, stay away from elements involved…

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Norway is working to put sustainable use of oceans on the top of the international agenda, the country’s envoy here today said, exhorting the world to work together to check marine pollution. Ambassador of Norway to India Nils Ragnar Kamsvag made the remarks during his address at the opening of the three-day World Sustainable Development Summit, hosted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) at the India Habitat Centre. The envoy cited an incident from last year, when a whale was found on the west coast of Norway, with over…

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today lauded India’s cultural diversity, saying multiple faiths and schools of thought co-exist peacefully in the county. Speaking at a meeting with Muslim intellectuals, scholars and clerics here tonight, Rouhani, who arrived here on a three-day India visit, said Islam is not a religion of violence, but one of moderation. “Iran wants unity, independence and support for the East. Iran wants fraternity with India. We do not want to have any differences with other countries as well,” said Rouhani who is on his first India visit…

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